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Brief Summary of EU Draft Bill on

Passengers (Pax) Rights

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This summary aims to:

• Describe briefly the EU draft bill on air pax rights

• Put things in perspective (see my blog post)

What are these regulations?• Regulation CE n°261/2004 deals with the refund and assistance of

pax in case of denied boarding/ cancelling of the flight / important

delay (3, 5, 7 hours the longer the distance).

• Regulation CE n°2027/97 deals with the responsibility of aircraft

carriers towards pax and their luggage.

What impacts?• This draft bill can have a vital impact on the airlines’ business

model especially the one of the low-cost carriers’.

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Explanatory statements

What caused these modifications?

The EU Parliament advances:

• A divergence of interpretation / a rise of unfair practices

(p.108)

• Flaws in the current regulations (p.108)

• Different practices from one State to another (p.108)

• Difficulty encountered by pax in enforcing their rights (p.108,

109)

• A situation of the “weak (pax) vs the strong (big

companies)”(p.109)

• Complexity and high cost in current procedures (p.109)

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Draft Bill Objectives

Draft Bill Objectives

• Enforce pax rights

• Enforce the power of national

organisms

• Protect pax from unfair denied

boarding / missing connection / long

delays

• Increase the responsibility of

carriers towards luggage, PRM

equipment and musical

instruments

The proposals summarised:

• On denied boarding

• On compensation right in case of

missed connecting flight

• On compensation right for pax in case

of long delays

• On extraordinary circumstances

• On the minimum luggage allowance

and luggage in general

• On accommodation expenses

• On the right to be informed

• On the price transparency

• On the complaint procedure

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Denied boarding

The proposals summarised:

• Deny boarding of passengers on a two-way ticket under the

basis that they didn’t fly the outward ticket is strictly forbidden.

• Denied boarding is extended to long delays and missed

connection – if this is due to the airline

Compensation in case of missed flight connection

• If an airline is responsible of a missed flight connection (change

of schedule, delays…), a missed flight connection shall be

viewed as a denied boarding.

• The pax must receive “assistance, care and rerouting” by the

airline immediately after the missed connection

• They shall receive the same compensation as the one for

cancellation or delay

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Long delays compensation

• UE lowers the thresholds of long delays (3, 5 or 7 hours now

against 5,9, 12 in the past, depending on the miles flown)

• Common thresholds for all UE countries

• Any agreement between airlines or pax should only regard the

form of the compensation and not the compensation itself

The proposals summarised:

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Accommodation expenses

• Airlines will have to establish contact points in airports

• Transparency obligation regarding pax rights, delay causes and

alternative ways of transport

• Limit accommodation expenses for the airline to €175 per night, for 5 nights

maximum

Right to be informed

The proposals summarised:

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Extraordinary circumstancesExhaustive list of circumstances regarded as extraordinary :

1. technical problems afflicting the aircraft which are directly caused

by a hidden manufacturing defect (…)

2. damage caused by bird strike

3. war, political unrest, acts of sabotage or terrorism rendering

impossible the safe operation of the flight

4. health risks or medical emergencies

5. unforeseen air traffic management restrictions or the unforeseen

closure of the airspace, including runway closure

6. meteorological conditions incompatible with flight safety or that have

damaged the aircraft (…)

7. unforeseen labour disputes at the operating air carrier or at essential

service providers (…)

(More information on the Annex 1 , Wallentin-Herman case, the Ryanair Plc vs

Denise McDonagh)

The proposals summarised:

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• The following luggage type shall no longer be charged for: hand

luggage (x1), musical instrument*, PRM equipment, therapeutic

oxygen

• A musical instrument shall be considered a hand luggage

provided it can be stowed safely.

• Where a musical instrument is too large to be stowed safetly,

the airline can request the payment of a second fare where the

instrument is carried as hand luggage on second seat.

• Contact points shall be established to deal with issues of lost /

delayed / damaged luggage

• Obligation to refund in advance lost/damaged luggage

LuggageThe proposals summarised:

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Price transparency

• “Ticket price" means the full price paid for a ticket and including

the air fare, all applicable taxes, charges, surcharges and

fees paid for all optional and non-optional services included in

the ticket related to the air transport part of the journey.

• It also takes into account issue of a boarding card, minimum

luggage allowance and payment-related costs such as credit-

card fees.

• Pax have a limited time of six months to report a complaint

• Airlines have the obligation to confirm reception of the complaint

within 7 days and has a legal obligation of 2 months to treat it

Complaint procedure

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Which impact on the low-cost business

model?• To this end, visit my blog:

• You can download the document here, or via the

European Parliament website Europarl.Europa.eu